Story highlights

Federal charges filed against Ciancia for murder of officer and violence in an airport

Ciancia sent "angry, rambling" texts to his brother and father, police say

Paul Anthony Ciancia was a newcomer to Los Angeles -- a 23-year-old Catholic school graduate and son of a popular Fraternal Order of Police member back in New Jersey.

According to a profile emerging of the suspected gunman, he also harbored anti-government views and fears of an ominous New World Order when he walked into Los Angeles International Airport on Friday.

Police say Ciancia pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and opened fire in the airport, killing Transportation Security Administration officer Gerardo Hernandez, 39, and wounding several others, including at least two other agents, in what appeared to be an orchestrated assault on members of the federal agency.

A federal criminal complaint was filed Saturday afternoon charging Ciancia with murder of a federal officer and commission of violence in an international airport, U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. said.

Investigators unable to interview suspect

Ciancia remained hospitalized Saturday. FBI Special Agent in Charge David Bowdich described him as "unresponsive."

"We are unable to interview him, as of today," Bowdich said.

Asked at a news conference if Ciancia had any known run-ins with TSA officers, Bowdich said, "To this point, we have found none."

Shooter:"Are you TSA?"

Eyewitnesses said Friday's shooter walked from person to person, calmly asking, "Hey, are you TSA?"

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – Transportation Security Administration Officer Gerardo Hernandez, 39, was killed in a shooting at Los Angeles International Airport on Friday, November 1. Paul Ciancia, 23, armed with what police say was an assault rifle and carrying materials expressing anti-government sentiment, opened fire at LAX Terminal 3, killing Hernandez before being chased down. Ciancia has been charged with the murder of a federal officer and commission of violence at an international airport.

Hide Caption

1 of 28

Photos: Gunfire at LAX28 photos

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – A passenger embraces a TSA screener at Los Angeles International Airport's Terminal 3 after it was reopened on Saturday, November 2 following a shooting. Four other people are recovering from injuries in the shooting.

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – Injured traveler Bruce Reith, from Munich, Germany, is helped by two Los Angeles Airport Police officers as he makes his way on crutches to Terminal 3 for departure a day after injuring himself while escaping the shooting.

Hide Caption

4 of 28

Photos: Gunfire at LAX28 photos

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – Workers tear down a temporary partition after Terminal 3 was reopened on November 2, a day after a shooting at LAX.

Hide Caption

5 of 28

Photos: Gunfire at LAX28 photos

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – A Los Angeles Airport Police officer stands in front of Terminal 3 security screeners after law enforcement officials completed their investigation and prepare to reopen the terminal at LAX on November 2.

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – This photo, from Terminal 3, shows what appears to be a weapon on the ground. Police said a man "pulled an assault rifle out of a bag and began to open fire" Friday, killing one person and injuring others before being shot and taken into custody.

Hide Caption

9 of 28

Photos: Gunfire at LAX28 photos

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – Law enforcement officers gather in Terminal 3 near the scene of the shooting.

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – Passengers evacuate the airport after the incident, which airport officials said began about 9:30 a.m. The gunfire and the airport's announcement of the incident provoked chaos among travelers, passengers said.

Hide Caption

13 of 28

Photos: Gunfire at LAX28 photos

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – People hide inside a bathroom stall at the airport after the gunshots were reported.

Hide Caption

14 of 28

Photos: Gunfire at LAX28 photos

Fatal shooting at Los Angeles airport – Thousands of travelers were delayed after the incident closed the airport for hours.

Allen Cummings, the police chief in Ciancia's hometown of Pennsville, New Jersey, said Ciancia has no history of violence or recorded mental illness. Family members told police he didn't seem troubled the last time they saw him -- when he visited family for a wedding this summer.

"Obviously, you know, they're upset," Cummings told CNN. "I mean, this is a shock to them. It's a shock to our community."

Ciancia grew up in a quiet, wooded neighborhood just minutes from the Delaware Memorial Bridge, according to The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware. Houses there are far apart, nestled in the woods at the end of driveways sometimes hundreds of feet long.

He once worked in a popular auto repair shop owned by his father, an associate member of the local Fraternal Order of Police who neighbors say has always been known for how well he takes care of customers there.

Remembered as quiet high school student

The younger Ciancia graduated in 2008 from an all-boys Catholic school, the Salesianum School, in Wilmington, according to Brendan P. Kennealey, the school president.

Classmates there described him as awkward, saying he never fit in.

"In four years, I never heard a word out of his mouth," David Hamilton, who graduated with Ciancia in 2008, told the Los Angeles Times. "He kept to himself and ate lunch alone a lot. I really don't remember any one person who was close to him."

Texts alarmed family

It wasn't immediately clear Saturday why he moved across the country. But that may have been where the first signs of trouble began to surface.

In texts to his brother and father, Ciancia said he was unhappy and discouraged living in Los Angeles, according to an intelligence source with knowledge of the investigation. The source spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the ongoing investigation.

It was one of those text messages that made his family think something bad was about to happen.

"Basically, the text message was just a message to the little brother, and the way it was written, they had some concern about it, and that's when they brought it to our attention," Cummings said.

The intelligence source described his texts as "angry" and "rambling."